


peaches & cream

by soulofme



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: I Don't Even Know, M/M, Murder, Revenge, mobster levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-05 19:30:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12800796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulofme/pseuds/soulofme
Summary: "C'mon, Eren. Blow my fucking brains out."(Or alternatively: revenge is a dish best served cold.)





	peaches & cream

“Somebody died,” Levi announces as he walks through the bedroom door. He’s tugging insistently at the tie around his neck.

There’s blood splattered onto his pristine white shirt, staining the fabric a deep red. Eren rolls onto his back, snapping his book shut and tossing it carelessly aside. Levi comes to a stop before the bed, finally managing to wrangle the tie free. It flutters away from his fingers and lands harmlessly onto the floor.

Eren watches Levi, who stares down at him with a blank expression. Levi kneels onto the bed and presses his hands to the inside of Eren’s thighs. He pushes them apart until there’s enough room for him to drop his body down into the empty space. Eren lifts his legs and crosses his ankles around Levi’s neck, caging him in between his thighs. Levi digs his chin down into Eren’s stomach, a hand inching up under the hem of his shirt.

“I killed a man before,” Eren replies, his voice careful and even. Levi raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. Eren continues. “He called me a pretty baby and wanted to have his way with me. I crushed his head between my thighs and shot his fuckin’ brains out.”

“Hm,” Levi hums, soft and hardly audible. “Did anyone miss him?”

“No,” Eren says firmly. “No one misses people like that.”

“You sound awfully sure of that,” Levi remarks absently.

Eren squeezes his thighs tighter around Levi’s neck, waiting for him to react. Levi doesn’t. He just gives Eren the same blank expression.

“I could probably do the same thing to you,” Eren says, lifting a hand to rake it through Levi’s hair, sticky with a mixture of blood and sweat. “You wouldn’t be able to stop me.”

Levi’s lips twist up into a cruel smirk. “Wanna try it?”

“Killing you would mean killing me,” Eren says. “Luckily for you, I don’t have a death wish.”

Levi snorts in response and smacks the outside of Eren’s thigh. Eren removes his legs and watches as Levi gets off of the bed. He grabs a clean shirt and pants from the dresser and shuffles towards the bathroom.

“I’m gonna take a shower,” he says, shutting the door behind himself quietly.

Eren listens as Levi turns on the shower. He stares up at the ceiling, his eyes narrowed the slightest bit.

He’s willing to admit that he has a bit of a grudge against Levi. While Levi himself hadn’t been responsible for the massacre that claimed the lives of Eren’s family, his uncle had. Levi had only been a snot-nosed teenager then, too inept to do any true damage, but Eren had never forgotten what his family had done.

Maybe that was why he’d fled home as soon as he realized the Ackerman clan was making itself comfortable in Sina. He wanted in on the action as soon as possible. Snagging Levi had been like taking candy from a baby. It was easy to make a man like him believe that all of his sins could be looked past. Forgiven, even. That was how Eren had made it seem, after all.

But he had a plan, and he could only carry it out once he gained Levi’s trust. It was almost laughable how a mob boss could let a stranger in so quickly, but it became quickly apparent that even the strongest man was weak for a pretty face. And so Eren became Levi’s arm candy, a trophy he kept locked up for his eyes only. Levi pays for his clothes and car and schooling, and Eren gives every bit of himself to Levi. The arrangement sickens him to his core, but Eren knows he has to bide his time. It would be over soon enough.

Eren drums his fingers against his stomach. He hadn’t expected that they would find out so quickly. Thomas wasn’t anyone special. It was why Eren had picked him. No one would miss a tiny little grub like that. Thomas was more of an experiment than anything. A way to test his skills and make sure that he wasn’t getting too rusty. He hadn’t had much practice when he lived with Mother. She hated violence.

Eren rolls out of the bed and pads into the kitchen. He sets a kettle of hot water to boil and drops a few tea bags inside. He stares down into it before shaking his head and slamming the lid back on top. He hears the bathroom door opening, so he steps back from the stove and settles behind the counter.

Levi walks into the kitchen, dressed in a tee-shirt and a pair of sweats. He’s still drying his hair as he makes his way to the fridge to check its contents.

“Leftovers?” he asks, even as he pulls the half-eaten tray of lasagna out to inspect it. Eren doesn’t reply. Levi stops to look at him, his eyebrows knitted together. “What?”

“Who killed him?”

Levi works his jaw once, hard enough that Eren can see how the muscles in his cheek jump at the action.

“I don’t know.”

“You do,” Eren insists, leaning across the counter. “Is it from the inside?”

“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Levi says instead. He shrugs to himself and begins cutting himself a portion of the lasagna. “The guy wasn’t that important, anyway. Kenny thinks he just stepped on the wrong toes.”

“Oh,” Eren says flatly.

“You don’t sound that torn up about it.”

“Neither do you.”

Levi nods to himself, seemingly conceding. “How was school?”

“Boring,” Eren answers.

“The guy got stabbed,” Levi offers then, and Eren tilts his head to the side. “Knife was probably this long.”

He holds his hands out in an approximation. Eren pointedly looks away from the drawer where all the nice knives are kept, the fancy ones that cost more than anything Eren’s ever owned combined.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Levi plants his hands on the counter and leans towards Eren. “Didn’t _you_ beg me to buy you all those fancy ass knives for that cooking class you signed up for?”

“The knife defines the chef,” Eren remarks absently. He clears his throat and meets Levi’s sharp gaze. “Why?”

“Nothing,” Levi replies. He stands up and pops his plate into the microwave. Once it’s finished heating up, he grabs the plate and takes it into the living room. “Bring me the tea when it’s done.”

Eren scowls at Levi’s back as he walks away.

 

 

Eren keeps his hood up as he hails a taxi and settles into the backseat. The driver asks where he’s going, and Eren prattles off the address without a second thought. He ignores the dubious look the driver gives him.

“Are you sure, sir?” he asks, voice trembling the slightest bit.

Eren narrows his eyes and slaps a thick wad of bills into the man’s house. The driver slides the money into the dashboard and peels away from the curb. The drive takes considerably less time than usual. Eren steps off once the driver has pulled over and stares up at the nondescript building.

Sina is a bustling city filled with promise…for those who could afford to be there. Most of the population had been forced to struggle. Crime and prostitution seemed to be the best sources of income. The outskirts of Sina had gotten quite the reputation. Men looking for a good time and women desperate to support themselves flocked there in hoards, all eager to get a taste of the sweetness Sina appeared to offer.

The outskirts were drenched in filth and pity, but Eren liked it that way. This was his childhood, after all. He had spent much of his life under the watchful eye of Historia Reiss. Her father had been the late Mayor Reiss until he had been murdered in cold blood. It was then that rumors about his disgraced daughter rose to the surface. Girls of varying ages all claimed to be her, but Historia herself never made an appearance. Eren guessed it was because she had no desire to be affiliated with her father now. She had made a living as the Madam of Sina, a title she took seriously. When Eren had fled from his father’s home, she had taken him under her wing and raised him as her own son.

Eren pauses in front of the entrance to the brothel. The last time he had been here, he and Mother had gotten into a rather nasty fight. Eren can only hope that her tendency to hold grudges does not extend to him.

Holding his head up high, Eren strides into the building. Low, sultry music bleeds out from the speakers and fills the room. The lights have been turned down low in preparation for the night’s activities. Eren walks through the room, ignoring the salacious grins aimed his way.

“I’m looking for Mother,” he says to a woman in a low cut dress.

She eyes him curiously before her black-rimmed eyes widen in shock. Eren grins charmingly at her, figuring that she knows who he is.

“Right this way,” she says, pushing off from the wall she had been leaning against.

She leads him down a narrow hall lit by soft red light. At the end of the hall, there is an ornate door guarded by two men in black suits. They stand up straighter when Eren nears them, and the woman clucks her tongue softly.

“This is the Madam’s son,” she says, wrapping an arm around Eren’s waist. She smiles at the men, a silent promise of pain should they try anything. “Take care of him, hm?”

The men say nothing. One reaches for the door and pushes it open. Eren nods at him as he steps into the room.

The entire inside is decorated grandly in gold and white. Mother sits on one of the pristine white settees, her golden hair pulled away from her face in an intricate braid accentuated by gold chains. Her white dress flows around her and shows up a sliver of thigh as she crosses her legs delicately, widening the slit running along the side of it.

“You’re home,” she says, her blue eyes sparkling.

Eren walks forward and settles himself in the seat across from her. Mother regards him with a critical eye, lingering on his sharp jaw and neatly kept hair.

“I wanted to see you,” Eren murmurs. “It’s been a while, Mother.”

“Yes,” she agrees, leaning forward to pour herself a glass of wine. “You haven’t dropped by in quite some time.”

“I was worried you would forget my face if I didn’t,” Eren jokes, watching how Mother’s eyes narrow the slightest bit. “Don’t tell me you missed me.”

“Of course not,” she says, throwing her head back and laughing richly. “ _You_ were the one who decided to leave, pet.”

Eren swallows roughly. “I’m sorry, Mother.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” she says. She swirls the deep red wine around in her glass and fixes him with an expectant look. “I suppose you want something.”

“It certainly seems that way, doesn’t it?” Eren murmurs faintly. He lifts his head and catches Mother’s hard gaze. “He’s getting suspicious.”

Mother tilts her head to the side. “You promised me he’d never know.”

“He knows how to dig,” Eren replies, struggling to keep the anger out of his voice. “He’s insistent.”

 “What will you do if he figures it out?”

“Run.”

“You’re awfully good at that,” Mother murmurs. She leans back against the plush settee. “You’re bound to run out of steam eventually.”

“I guess I am.”

“You’re treading on thin ice,” Mother observes, tapping a fingernail against her glass. She sets it down on the end table and fixes Eren with an expectant look. “What would you like for me to do about it?”

“Nothing. If he figures out we’re connected, it’s too late for us anyway.”

 “Wonderful,” Mother bites back. She presses a hand to her temples and laughs bitterly. “I’ve built an empire here, Eren. Am I supposed to stand back and watch as someone else burns it down?”

Eren shakes his head. “I’m not saying it’ll get that far. But I wanted to warn you in case it does.”

“You’ve gotten yourself into quite the fix, then,” she says. “You can’t fight fire with fire, pet. You’re only going to get yourself burned.”

Before she can continue, the door opens. A mousy looking girl in a short black dress lingers in the doorframe, her entire form shaking.

“M-Madam,” she stammers. “There’s a man out there. He’s getting rough with some of the girls.”

Mother clicks her tongue impatiently. She stands to her feet with a flourish and walks towards Eren, cupping his chin in her hand.

“Watch your step on the way out,” she says, leaning down so that her lips brush against the shell of his ear. “And, of course, be careful.”

Eren slips his eyes shut and nods once.

 

 

Eren chokes Gunther to death on Tuesday. He doesn’t leave behind a single trace. Long after it’s done, when he’s at home with Levi at his back snoring softly, he imagines he can still feel the blue-green veins in Gunther’s neck pulsing beneath his hands.

 

 

“You’re late.”

Levi shoots Eren a dry look and slides into the seat across from him.

“I had some loose ends to tie up.” He uncovers the dish closest to him and stares down at the baked tilapia with mild interest. “Another man died.”

“Oh?” Eren says. “That’s a shame.”

“He was important this time,” Levi adds on, choosing a piece of fish and sliding it onto his plate. “I think we’re being targeted.”

“Now who would want to target _you_?” Eren asks, resting his chin in his hands. “You’re a good man, aren’t you?”

Levi doesn’t say anything for a few moments. And then:

“You’re a fucking moron.”

Eren snorts out a laugh and leans back against the chair.

“Was there a lot of blood?”

“No. He choked my guy out.”

“Your guy?”

Levi nods. “He chose someone that was close to me.”

“Why would he do that?”

“To get to me, probably,” Levi says. “I guess he’s trying to make a point.”

“Is it working?”

“Do you want it to?”

Eren holds up his hands defensively. “Whoa there. I’m just asking.”

Levi narrows his eyes.

“Someone _died_.” He leans across the table and fixes Eren with a dangerous look. “Can’t you get that through your pretty little head?”

Eren huffs out a bitter laugh.

“You’ve seen people die before, haven’t you?” Eren asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “I knew what I was getting into when I got involved with you. I wouldn’t still be here if death bothered me.”

Levi grinds his teeth together hard enough that Eren swears he can hear the sound of it.

“You’re a sick bastard.”

“You think you’re any better?”

Levi cuts into his tilapia pointedly. Eren spears a green bean and lifts it up to his mouth, the crunch of it echoing throughout the entire room. Dinner is a silent affair accentuated only by the clink of silverware against Levi’s fancy china plates. Levi shoves himself back from the table and stalks off towards the bedroom.

Eren scrambles up to his feet and follows after him. He lets Levi circle around him like a lion stalking his prey, tilts his head back and closes his eyes as Levi grabs him and scrapes his teeth down the pretty line of his throat.

“Gonna be a good boy?” Levi asks, all dark and harsh. Eren lets his back press against the door, feeling how the doorknob digs into the base of his spine.

“Yes, sir,” he murmurs, mostly condescending, but Levi doesn’t seem to care. He never really does.

They fall onto the bed in a mess of limbs and too eager hands. Eren scratches deep red lines down Levi’s back, hoping that he’ll leave welts behind that’ll bleed right through his shirt.

“Kenny’s real fuckin’ pissed,” Levi bites out, rocking his hips insistently against Eren. Eren presses his head down against the mattress and chases after the friction, nearly starving for it.

“Yeah? What’d he say?”

“Said he’d shoot my ass down if I don’t figure out what’s happening,” Levi continues, his eyes nearly black. “Said he’d make me regret the day I was born.”

“What’s that got to do with me?” Eren asks, ignoring how Levi laughs soft and cruel against the tender flesh of his neck.

“Means you won’t have any of this nice shit,” Levi says, tugging hard at the cashmere sweater Eren has on. “Means you gotta find someone else to pay your bills and fuck you silly.”

“I could do it,” Eren promises, sliding his hands into Levi’s hair and pressing his thumbs down against the base of his skull. “You aren’t anything special.”

“Of _course_ not.”

Levi doesn’t say anything after that. He fucks Eren hard enough to hurt, has his way with him over and over until they’re both bone-deep tired. Eren finds himself flat on his back after it happens, arms pillowing his head. Levi sits up against the headboard and lights up a cigarette. He doesn’t smoke it, though. Just lets it fizzle out and drop black ash onto the soiled sheets.

“What?” Eren asks, twisting to face him.

Levi wiggles the cigarette between his fingers.

“Shiganshina.”

Eren’s blood turns to ice. “What?”

Levi sits up straight, staring intently at something Eren can’t see.

“This has to be because of Shiganshina.”

“What happened in Shiganshina?” Eren asks. Levi snorts.

“Have you been living under a rock?” he murmurs, more exasperated than mean. “Someone crossed Kenny. Dr. Jaeger or something like that. I can’t remember his first name for the life of me.”

 _Grisha_ , Eren wants to add, but thinks better of it. He props himself up onto his elbows instead, ignoring how his blood roars in his ears.

“What makes you think this is because of that?”

“Kenny lost his shit after that,” Levi answers. “Burned the whole place down to the fucking ground. Killed everybody. There was a rumor that Jaeger’s son made it. No one’s seen him since then, though, so I don’t know how true that is.”

 _He’s alive. He’s alive and you just fucked him_.

Eren swallows hard and worries at his lower lip.

“You think he’s the one doing all this?”

Levi shrugs and puts the cigarette out on the nightstand.

“Beats me. If that kid is alive, I imagine he’s holding one hell of a grudge.”

“Huh,” Eren murmurs. “I guess he would be.”

Levi drums his fingers against the nightstand, head tilted to the side. He still doesn’t look at Eren.

“You grew up in Shiganshina, right?”

“No,” Eren says, too quick and too desperate. The look Levi gives him makes him feel cold all the way down to his goddamn toes. “Well, not really. Only for a couple of years. I got shipped off to the Underground after my parents died.”

“Huh.”

“What?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking.” Levi laughs to himself, turning his gaze back the wall opposite from him. “You know, it’s kind of funny. I lived down there for my entire life and I don’t remember ever seeing you.”

Eren tries his best to keep his breathing level.

“I lived in an orphanage. They weren’t exactly keen on letting us explore.”

Levi narrows his eyes. “Which orphanage?”

“St. Rose.”

“I had a friend who stayed there for a while,” Levi mumbles. “Isabel Magnolia. Ever hear of her?”

“No. Can’t say that I have.”

“Pity. She was a good kid,” Levi says.

Eren curls his hands into fists around the sheets.

“What the fuck are you trying to get at, Levi?”

“You don’t make sense.”

“Am I supposed to?”

“Kind of, yeah,” Levi says with a snort. “What are you hiding?”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Eren says, proud of how firm he sounds. “I’m not fucking hiding anything.”

“I believe you,” Levi says, but it’s hard to tell if he means it.

 

 

Eren knows he’s running out of time. It’s time for his last trick.

 

 

Jean shows up unexpectedly one day.

 Eren hadn’t been close with him before, back when Historia Reiss had watched over both of them. She never loved Jean like she loved Eren. That was probably why he fled when he was fifteen and never looked back. Despite their differences, Eren had accepted him as a brother of sorts. They bickered like most siblings, but had each other’s backs where it mattered.

Eren grips the doorframe hard, listening as Levi’s movie blasts throughout their home. Jean looks different, much different than the hard-headed fifteen year old he had once been. His hair is shorter, his jaw is sharper, and dark bags line the bottoms of his eyes.

“What are you doing here?” Eren asks.

“It’s Mother,” Jean says, an answer that has Eren slamming the door shut behind him and following Jean out to the car.

Mother looks sickly pale when they arrive at the brothel. For once, the jewels around her neck shine brighter than her. Eren thinks there’s something almost sad about that.

He leans by her side and lets her run her small fingers through his bangs, listening to her soft breathing.

“Poison,” she says, digging her nails into her scalp. “How do you suppose that got in here?”

“I don’t know,” Eren replies. He can feel Jean’s eyes boring holes into his back. “I’ll find out.”

“Good boy,” she says, and Eren nearly flinches. The words remind him too much of Levi. “I trust that you’ll finish this, pet.”

“Of course, Mother,” he says, leaning into her touch when she cups his cheek. “Don’t worry.”

He leaves shortly after, heading straight to one of Sina’s many bars. Jean follows after him like a lost puppy, hot on his heels and nearly barking the whole way. Towards the end of the night, when Eren is drunk enough that he’s stumbling around like a moron, Jean grabs him and drags him into a dark alley.

“What the hell, Eren?” he finally grits out. He grabs Eren around the shoulder and knocks him into the wall. “What the fuck is going on?”

Eren raises his head up from the wall, feeling how the blood runs down the back of his neck.

“I told you I’d do it,” he says. He doesn’t have to elaborate. Jean’s eyes go wide, full of a mixture of fear and shock.

“You didn’t,” Jean says. It seems like he’s trying to convince himself of that. “Fuck, Eren, tell me you didn’t do it!”

“He’s not dead yet,” Eren says darkly. “It worked out fine for a while. You wouldn’t believe how easy it was to get him to trust me. I didn’t have to do much, you know.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jean says, stepping back from Eren. He rakes a heavy hand through his hair before he returns, slamming his hands onto either side of Eren’s head. “You goddamn _idiot_!”

Eren snarls and shoves Jean, hard enough that Jean trips over a bag of trash lying on its side. Jean leans his shoulder against the wall behind him and shakes his head. His hair looks almost orange underneath the light from the streetlamp.

“You goddamn idiot,” he says again, softer and almost subdued. Eren laughs, crazed and high.

“I had to fuckin’ do it,” Eren says, gesturing emphatically with his hands. “You think I wanted him to touch me? You think I _wanted_ him to fuck me? I was just bidding my time. I don’t have to do that anymore. It ends. Tonight.”

“I always knew you were gonna get yourself killed,” Jean says, sounding strangely accepting of that. “I always knew you were gonna go too fucking far. But I never thought you’d drag the rest of us down with you.”

Eren grinds his teeth together hard enough to hurt and clenches his hands into fists.

“I had to do it,” he says again. Jean doesn’t seem to believe it any more than he had at first, but Eren continues on. “You think I deserved what he did to me?”

Jean stands to his full height then, looking significantly less afraid.

“What are you going to do?”

“Levi Ackerman ruined my life,” Eren murmurs, reaching up to wipe the blood off of his neck. “It’s only fair that I return the favor.”

 

 

Eren sits on the armchair with his legs spread wide, turning Levi’s gun over in his hand. The light catches on the gleaming metal. It’s gorgeous. Eren wonders how gorgeous it’ll look in use.

Levi finally stumbles through the door, blood covering every damn inch of him. He holds a hand against his arm and stops in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. His hair is stuck to his face with rain water. Eren lifts his head to meet his gaze and runs his fingers along the barrel of the gun.

“What do you have there?” Levi asks, slow and cautious, as if he’s talking to a wounded animal. Eren laughs at the thought.

“When did you start to suspect me?”

Levi stares at him silently for a few moments before he walks forward. The wooden floor beneath him creaks with his weight. He comes to a stop before Eren before he sinks down to his knees. Eren leans forward and catches a bead of water from the bottom of his lip with his thumb.

“I looked into the Jaegers again,” Levi says simply. Eren hums softly.

“You should’ve figured it out sooner,” he says, tracing the sharp line of Levi’s jaw with the gun. “I look the same, don’t I?”

“Your father knew Kenny was going to kill him. Wasn’t that why he sent you away?”

“Please,” Eren snorts, rolling his eyes. “Who fed you that lie?”

“What happened, then?” Levi says, unafraid even as Eren presses the gun against his forehead.

“I went to Mother all on my own,” Eren mutters. “I couldn’t stand being in that bastard’s house.”

“Why?”

“Let’s just say he loved me a little too much,” Eren replies, smiling cruelly. He moves the gun away from Levi and rests it back on his thigh. “My mother was too weak to stop him, but I pitied her. She didn’t deserve to die.”

“And Mikasa?”

“Don’t say her name,” Eren hisses. He inhales heavily and shakes his head. “My sister was too good for any of us.”

“My mother was sick,” Levi says, watching how Eren looks back at him steadily, seemingly intrigued. “Kenny knew how good your father was. People always talked about the miracles Dr. Jaeger could work.”

Eren drums his fingers against the armchair.

“So what?”

“So,” Levi says, shuffling closer even as Eren gives him a warning look. “Kenny asked him to save her. Dr. Jaeger promised he would. He took our money and promised that everything would be okay.”

“My father was always good at lying,” Eren remarks absently. “I think that’s where I got it from.”

“My mother succumbed to her illness and Kenny went blind with rage,” Levi finishes. “We all know what happened next. Kenny burned down your shitty little town and you ran away to where no one could find you.”

“Someone did his homework,” Eren says, clapping mockingly. “Good boy.”

“How’s Historia, by the way?” Levi asks. “I heard she had quite the scare the other day. I guess it’s a good thing she was able to bounce back.”

“You son of a bitch,” Eren whispers, gripping the gun tight. “You’re just asking for it now.”

“So do it,” Levi says, grabbing Eren’s wrist and dragging the gun back to his forehead.

Eren drags Levi up from his hair, staring deep into his impassive grey eyes. He growls at the expression and hits Levi with the butt of the gun, satisfied with the way he spits out a mouthful of blood.

“Why me?” Levi grits out.

“Kenny took my sister away from me,” Eren says, staring down at Levi. He slides off of the couch and onto the ground, where he rests his weight onto Levi’s thighs and pins him down. “I figured I’d take his precious little nephew away from him.”

“I’m not worth much,” Levi says. “Not nearly as much as Kenny.”

“I would’ve gotten him eventually,” Eren says. “Can’t let a man like that wander around, after all. It’s dangerous.”

“And you’re not?” Levi replies. Eren cups his jaw and forces him to look at him.

“You should’ve never trusted me,” Eren says instead, smirking wide. “Bet you could’ve been safe and sound if you didn’t. We could have avoided all of this.”

“There’s no use thinking about that,” Levi says. “I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“You’re so eager to die,” Eren murmurs fondly. “Do you have a death wish?”

“It seems that way, doesn’t it?”

Eren hits him with the gun again, pleased with how he coughs and jerks away from the blow. He adjusts his position and presses the gun to Levi’s forehead again.

“C’mon, Eren,” Levi says, smiling. Eren narrows his eyes. “Blow my fucking brains out.”

And so Eren does.

He pulls the trigger and feels how the blood covers every goddamn inch of him. He thinks of the man he’d killed at seventeen, how tiny that head felt between his thighs, how blood had splattered onto the walls once Eren shot him. He thinks of Thomas, how the knife had lodged deep into his throat, how blood had squirted out and covered his hands in a thick layer. He thinks of Gunther, how he had felt the life squeezed out of him, how his eyes had been blown wide with shock.

 _This_ , Eren thinks, staring down at the crimson liquid staining his clothes, at the tiny, itty bitty pieces of brain matter littering the floor, listening as the neighbors pound on the door, demanding to know what’s going on in there, _beats them all_.


End file.
